<body><div> By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor LEEDS – The Leeds Greenwave and the Center Point Eagles faced off Friday night at Homer Smiles Field in a battle for the second-place spot in 5A Region 6 where the winner would host a first-round playoff game and the loser would travel in that first week.&nbsp; After a 49-24 win, the Leeds Greenwave is your 5A Region 6 runner-up. <a href="https://www.trussvilletribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/IMG_9877-scaled.jpg" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4Z8oz6_0wDFJDZ100" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4Z8oz6_0wDFJDZ100" width="300" height="225" ></a> Leeds quarterback Conner Nelson. Photo by: Johnny Sanders Each teams first offensive drive would end with a punt and, at the 3:45 mark of the first, Deon Moore would fumble the ball on a run deep inside his own territory and the Greenwave would pick it up at the seven-yard line.&nbsp; Two plays later, Conner Nelson would score his first of five touchdowns on the night, making it 7-0 Leeds. On the next possession, Greenwave defender Miles Jones picked off a pass from Moore and set Leeds up at the 41.&nbsp; ZJ Dale would take the ball up the middle for a 34-yard touchdown to put the Greenwave up 14-0 to end the first quarter. A few plays later, another Moore interception was returned for 28 yards by Nelson to make it 21-0 with 10:51 to go in the first half. At the 9:00 mark in the second, Moore would fumble the ball and give it back to Leeds again, but this time the Eagles’ defense stood tall and stopped Leeds from scoring. Keywone Posey would come in at quarterback on the next drive and take a quarterback keeper 61 yards for Center Point’s first score of the night, making it 21-6 Greenwave with 5:29 to go in the half. The momentum would not last long as Nelson would strike again, this time on a 35-yard touchdown run with 2:18 on the clock to make it 28-6 Greenwave. After a nice drive by the Eagles, Moore would find Jaquoryae Busby for a Center Point score, cutting the lead to 28-12 as both teams headed into the break. Leeds would get the ball first in the third and take the ball down the field in just under three minutes.&nbsp; The drive would be capped off by a five-yard touchdown run by Nelson, making it 35-12 Leeds. The Eagles would put together another impressive drive, but after a pass from Posey to Busby was caught inside the 15-yard line, Busby dropped the ball and Taylon Gaiter took it back to the Center Point 49.&nbsp; Four minutes later, Nelson would punch in another touchdown from five yards out to put the Greenwave up 42-12. Not willing to go away, the Eagles would put together another drive and get it to the one-yard line where Julius Finnerson would punch it in to cut the lead to 42-18. Dale would add a Leeds touchdown with 6:52 to go in the fourth and Posey would find Moore for a 21-yard touchdown at the 1:47 mark, making it 49-24 game and that is how it would end. Center Point’s Keywone Posey was 7 of 11 for 99 yards and a touchdown.&nbsp; He also had nine carries for 86 yards and a touchdown. “We had turnovers, three in the first quarter,” said George Bates, Center Point’s coach.&nbsp; “We did it against a great team.&nbsp; You can’t give a real good team the ball like that.&nbsp; I’m disappointed in turnovers and tackling.&nbsp; This is the first time I have seen the guys hang their heads and I saw that in the second half.&nbsp; We are on a three-game skid and if I don’t do better, we will be out of the playoffs and will be done.&nbsp; I have got to fix some things.&nbsp; I failed because we had two weeks to prepare.&nbsp; We got Springville Thursday.” Defensive back and senior leader Reece Bittner said, “We did amazing tonight.&nbsp; Had 3 turnovers that helped us in the first half.&nbsp; We are not satisfied so we go back to work Monday.&nbsp; It’s awesome to play at home in round one.&nbsp; We are going to show everybody what we’ve got.” Coach Jerry Hood of Leeds said, “We always talk about not letting one turn into two.&nbsp; When you have one defeat, let’s learn from it.&nbsp; The kids did great, they came back great.&nbsp; We practiced in the mornings due to fall break so that helped.&nbsp; We’ve gone 16 weeks straight.&nbsp; We will lick our wounds and play another game next week and then get a much-needed break before the playoffs.” Conner Nelson had a great night, getting it done mostly on the ground with 18 carries for 141 yards and four touchdowns to go with his interception return for a touchdown.&nbsp; Hood said of his quarterback, “He played almost every play on defense and offense.&nbsp; He is our MVP, no doubt about it.&nbsp; Jacksonville State and Troy were here tonight watching and they are crazy if they don’t try to sign that kid.” Conner also spoke about his performance, “I think I played good, but I can’t do anything without my line and receivers.&nbsp; We put in a lot of work for this one so it’s good.&nbsp; Pelham will be tough.&nbsp; We’ve got to win five more.&nbsp; Getting another one at home is great.&nbsp; We have had one all four years I’ve played so it means a lot.” Leeds will take on Pelham at home next week while Center Point will host Springville on Thursday. </div></body>

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Leeds earns region runner-up with win over Center Point

By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor LEEDS – The Leeds Greenwave and the Center Point Eagles faced off Friday night at Homer Smiles Field in a battle for the second-place spot in 5A Region 6 where the winner would host a first-round playoff game and the loser would travel in that first week.  After a 49-24 […]

Leeds earns region runner-up with win over Center Point

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